Often overlooked, proficient project management is the cornerstone to project delivery success, as well as financial success of the job. Critical to this success is the role of the project manager (PM). Quite often, without PM leadership, client satisfaction is often not fully achieved leaving the building owner considering a different HVAC design consultant and/or HVAC mechanical contractor for the next building infrastructure.
Experience has shown that many consulting engineers perform a dual role of PM and project engineer when designing a project. There can be some economy in having one of the mechanical and electrical design engineers, working on a job, take on this extra role but I’ve also seen consulting engineers focus solely on the role of company’s PM position. Either way, these PM’s need to be trained to become proficient in their PM role and they need to continuously strive to become better with these skills. Unfortunately, most individuals do not excel at the PM task, nor do they not seek out educational programs to continuously improve the PM role. Instead, many get into the position because they have good communication skills, and the position usually pays more.
Documentation is the foundation to successful project management and critical to client satisfaction. Words / communication is easy but one needs to deliver on the services they provide. Being proficient at project management doesn’t stop in the consulting engineer’s office either. All those other building services require skilled PM’s such as construction companies, third-party TAB consultants, and facility management to mention 3-businesses. The PM can’t simply rely on talk. I have advocated my “24-hour rule” for sending out PM meeting minutes and / or field visit reports.
Here are five good traits of a successful PM:
- Listen, Listen, Listen and hear your customer
- Be proactive and not reactive
- Lead thru example
- Don’t accept “can’t – because your competition “can”
- Don’t assume anything
Here are five not-so-good traits:
- Not managing the meeting – allowing distractions away from the meeting agenda
- Handing out meeting’s minutes, e.g., the previous month, at this new meeting – versus my 24-hour rule
- Not sending out the next meeting’s agenda ahead of time
- Not assigning a person and due date to each task
- Not following up on past correspondence, schedules, etc.
An important PM tool is the efficient scheduling and facilitating of project meetings. It is a time management business tool – to facilitating the efficient use of everyone’s time. To maximize every attendee’s commitment, it is essential that the PM have meeting rules. Here is my suggestion for Meeting Rules which the PM should frame and post in the meeting room and a second copy framed and located on the conference room table:
- Send out an agenda ahead of time – Attendees need to come prepared to contribute
- Arrive On Time – Don’t penalize those who came early and / or on-time by waiting
- All cell phones must be powered off – Not on “vibrate”
- All computers must be powered off – Unless everyone is using the computer for meeting content
- No “muting” when video conferencing – Be there when you are there.
- Don’t leave the meeting – Anyone leaving (i.e., to answer a phone call) disrupts the conversation
- All attendees must contribute – Get involved or get out
- Listen – Don’t interrupt and certainly don’t raise your voice
- No side conversations – One topic and solution at a time.
- Be polite – Show professional courtesy
- Accept consensus – Support the team
- Maintain accurate meeting minutes – With assignments and due dates and distribute the meeting minutes immediately following this meeting
- Finish on time – Don’t affect other people’s schedules
- Follow up on the meeting minutes on a regular basis – Don’t wait until next meeting to see what was agreed to
As the PM, you are the facilitator and often the connection between the client and the rest of the team. Quite often, when a job financially “breaks even” or loses, because things didn’t go well, the likely culprit will be the PM for not championing the project. In turn, if the job goes well, everyone on the team, as well as the owner will recognize it as a great “team effort” – but the PM will know why the job was a success while everyone else are patting each other on their backs for a job-well-done.